Ricky Joseph Rogers

June 29, 2003

Dear NORML,

Thank you for taking an interest in my current situation. I too believe that it's time for all Americans to take a stand and let the government know that we will no longer tolerate their blatant disregard for our right to privacy and freedom of choice. I believe that the War on Drugs is just an excuse for the government to destroy the protection guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States.

I have never hurt anyone while smoking marijuana nor have I given it to children and still I have been sentenced to ten years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and have lost everything I've ever owned and loved.

My children have no father in their lives because I was arrested for being in possession of 4.2 grams of marijuana. What good does throwing me in prison do for society? Nothing's changed out there other than my family being destroyed. People still smoke pot out there and they're still smoking it in here too. All that has been done is harm, not harm reduction. There are a lot of people in prison and children in state-run institutions who have never been a threat to society. This is wrong! wrong!! wrong!!! And, people wonder why the world is going to hell. Our children are being taught at a very young age that if you love somebody, that you have to tell the police or another authority figure if somebody's using drugs so that they "can get them some help." And when they do just that they arrest the people they love and ruin their lives by giving them a criminal record. Then they take these children from their parents and place them in state run group homes and shelters with juveniles who are there because of criminal behavior. What kind of sense does this make? All I can do is hope and pray that people will begin to wake up and see what is going on before they too become casualties of the War on Drugs.

If someone commits a crime while under the influence of drugs or not on anything at all, he or she should be held accountable for their actions. But throwing someone's life away and wrecking families just because they chose to use a mind altering substance is just insane, man! What is freedom if we're not even allowed to choose to do what you want with your own body? I have a son who turns 10 years old on December 20th, 2003. And another son who turns 5 years old on August 16th, 2003. And both of them are without a daddy just because they were unfortunate enough to have a father who smokes marijuana. And for what reason exactly do we, the American public allow these injustices to take place? What good has the War on Drugs done? It's managed to destroy thousands of people's lives but has it saved even one? It's managed to drive up the price of drugs, but has it made it any less available to the user? Because marijuana and other illegal drugs can only be bought through illegitimate channels it is easier for our children to obtain than they're legal equivalent alcohol. If marijuana were to be legalized it too would be harder for our children to obtain. Some people may argue that marijuana and crime go hand in hand and there may be some truth to that. But only because people who deal drugs do so for the vast amount of money it can make for them because the War on Drugs has made the selling of drugs into an attractive avenue to obtain fast money for organized criminal organizations. Long story short... Legalize it and it's no longer profitable so the criminal element is no longer interested in making it available to buyers of all ages regardless of whether or not they are children.

I'm currently going on 4 years of incarceration because I chose to smoke marijuana and was found to be in possession of a very small amount. I come up for parole November 2003 and I'm currently participating in a drug program called "Vision for a Change" in the medium security prison L.A.R.C. in Lexington, OK. I can be contacted at the following address:

Ricky Joseph Rogers
Unit #8, Cell 221-Bottom Bunk
L.A.R.C. P.O. Box 876
Lexington, OK 73051-0876

Since my incarceration, my wife has divorced me and I haven't seen my boys since before my incarceration. I've lost everything because I was unwilling to sell out my friends family in order to avoid prison. If the War on Drugs and support of enforcers of those laws is what being an American is all about then I am ashamed. It's time for the people to stand together and say "no!" to the War on Drugs and live again without having to do so in fear. Please feel free to use as little or as much of this as you want if you decide to add it to your website.

Sincerely,

Ricky Rogers

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